The present invention relates to a steering system for a marine engine and more specifically to a system for controlling the steering of an auxiliary engine through the steering system provided for the primary engine.
In boats that utilize a large horsepower primary engine, it is not unusual for there to be a secondary or auxiliary engine of much smaller horsepower that is utilized for trolling, docking or other low speed operations.
Typically, the auxiliary engine is mounted on the stern of the boat to the side of the centrally located primary engine and the steering of the auxiliary engine could be performed in one of two ways. First, the operator of the boat could leave the forwardly located steering wheel and proceed to the stern of the boat where he would manually steer the auxiliary engine through the use of a handle. In the alternative, the operator could steer the auxiliary engine through the use of the steering wheel if a cable system for the auxiliary engine could be coupled into the cable steering system for the primary engine.
Neither of these methods provided for steering of an auxiliary engine through the use of a steering wheel that formed part of a hydraulically activated steering system.